More history for Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid – this time with Joe, 96, not Liam
Effin goalkeeper and nonagenarian share unique link
NICKIE Quaid will go down as one of, if not the best hurling goalkeeper of all time – but this time it is 96-year-old Joe Hennessy who is making history.
Where would Limerick be now if Nickie hadn’t famously flicked the sliothar off Seamus Harnedy’s hurley in the 2018 All-Ireland semi-final. The Cork man was about to burst the back of the net and surely send Limerick on the train home for the last time that year.
Instead, they went on to beat The Rebels in extra-time and end 45 years of hurt, against Galway in the All-Ireland final.
Limerick fans saw themselves in Mayo supporters last Sunday - tears, disbelief, unbridled joy. The wait was over.
Men like Joe, Newcastle West, (pictured) was 88 in 2018. He was 43 when he saw Eamon Grimes last lift Liam MacCarthy in 1973. Many have gone to their God since 2018 happy in the knowledge they saw Limerick lift Liam.
The six All-Irelands in nine years - with Nickie as the rock in goals and playmaker from puck-outs - has brought so much joy to all Limerick fans but especially older generations as they lived through the decades of unlimited heartbreak. That’s not forgetting seven Munster crowns and four league titles since 2019.
However, on this occasion, it is Joe who is the history maker. The hale and hearty 96-year-old and Nickie have a unique link.
Joe is the last surviving member of the Feohanagh minor team of 1948. He played on the same team as Nickie’s grandfather, Jack Quaid, and Jack’s twin brother Jim.
Joe - father of well-known former journalist Seamus Hennessy and Housemaster and Director of Admissions at Cistercian College, Roscrea - met Nickie at the Limerick hurling team’s celebratory banquet in the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road on the night of the All-Ireland final. The Effin man was only delighted to pose for a photo with Joe and share stories about his grandfather and granduncle.
Truly, a photograph to treasure.